Field
This disclosure relates to servicing a wellbore. More specifically, it relates to methods of maintaining or improving fluid conductivity in a wellbore.
Background
Natural resources such as gas, oil, and water residing in a subterranean formation or zone are usually recovered by drilling a wellbore down to the subterranean formation while circulating a drilling fluid in the wellbore. After terminating the circulation of the drilling fluid, a string of pipe, e.g., casing, is run in the wellbore. The drilling fluid is then usually circulated downward through the interior of the pipe and upward through the annulus, which is located between the exterior of the pipe and the walls of the wellbore. Next, primary cementing is typically performed whereby a cement slurry is placed in the annulus and permitted to set into a hard mass (i.e., sheath) to thereby attach the string of pipe to the walls of the wellbore and seal the annulus. Subsequent secondary cementing operations may also be performed.
Proppant packs are typically introduced into the wellbore and surrounding formation during fracturing and completion operations in order to provide a structural frame for both downhole support and fluid collection. Conventional proppant packs comprise sands which function to provide structural support for the formation and allow the flow of fluid (e.g., oil or gas) for collection. The proppant pack conductivity may decrease over time and as a result the amount of resources collected (e.g., hydrocarbons) will decrease over time. Thus an ongoing need exists for a proppant packs that would retain fluid conductivity over time and hence increase the lifetime of the wellbore.